Spinneret and liquid supply assembly for wet spinning



H. J. M DERMOTT Filed June 21, 1951 SPINNERET AND LIQUID SUPPLY ASSEMBLY FOR WET SPINNING Aug. 19, 1952 IN VEN TOR. HENRY J MCDERMO 77 Arrok Patented Aug. 19, 1952 SPINNERET AND LIQUID SUPPLY ASSEMBLY FOR WET SPINNING Henry J. McDermott, Collingdale, Pa., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application June 21, 1951, Serial No. 232,836

9 Claims.

This invention relates to wet spinning apparatus and is particularly concerned with the assembly of a spinneret and the liquid supply systems associated therewith.

In accordance with the present invention, a spinning apparatus is provided in which metered supplies of both coagulating and spinning liquids are, provided to each individual spinneret. It is particularly concerned with a system in which an individual cup or container for the coagulating liquid is provided concentrically about each spinneret. A further characteristic of the present invention is the provision of a system of the type outlined in which the spinneret or spinnerets may be withdrawn from the supply system for the coagulating liquid without the necessity to interrupt the supply of coagulating liquid so that no difi'iculty is later encountered, when again starting up the assembly, with the adjustment of the coagulating liquid supply to provide the desired rate of flow thereof. Afurther characteristic of the invention is the provision of a spinneret and associated liquid-supply assembly which is readily dismantled forreplacement and repair or cleaning of the parts thereof.

Objects and advantages other than those just outlined will be apparent from the drawing and the description thereof hereinafter.

In the drawing, which is illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an assembly unit,

Figure 2 is a section taken on line 1III of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a section taken on line IIIIII of Figure 1.

While the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawing shows two spinnerets and associated cups for confining the coagulating liquid supplied thereto, the individual unit may consist of a single spinneret and associated cup or it may comprise more than two such spinnerets and cups. The use of two or more such spinnerets closely associated side by side as in the embodiment shown is particularly adapted, though not limited, to the production of artificial filaments in accordance with the procedure outlined in my ccpending application Serial No, 172,224, filed July 6, 1950.

As shown, a bracket 3 is provided with one or more threaded bores l- (Fig. 3). These bores are concentric with the hollow projections. or bosses 5 upon the upper end of each of which a spinneret 6 may be supported, a gasket 1 being disposed therebetween. The spinnerets 6 are held ('Cl. 18-8) V upon the projections 5 by means of the annular couplings 8 which threadedly engage within the bores 4. When the spinnerets are clamped in position by the couplings 8, the bottoms of the couplings are spaced from the bottoms of the bores 4 to provide a space or passage 9 around each of the projections 5. A plurality of passages I4 extend axially through the couplings 8 and preferably concentrically with respect there-- to so as to interconnect the space 9 with the space l5 within the upper rim of each coupling 8. This space I5 is concentric with respect to the spinneret therein and the height of the rim 3a from the apertured face 6a of the spinneret may be any distance desired. However, a short distance of about inch to one or two inches is preferred when spinning according to the teachings of Patent 2,536,093.

A passage l0 interconnects each adjacent pair of such passages 9 and a bore ll communicates with the space 9 associated with one of the outer spinnerets. This bore is plugged as at 12 but communicates with a threaded bore I3 extende ing at rightangles from beneath the bracket. A

plug or bushing I6 is threadedly fitted in the bore [3 and may be adjusted to any depth thereinand then set to the adjusted position by means of lock nut IT. The bushing I6 terminates in a lower flange I8 having a smooth surface [9, preferably fiat, which is adapted to be seated and rest upon a soft annular gasket 20 disposed in a recess formed in a projection, ledge, or other portion, such as of the inside wall, of a container generally designated by the reference character 2 I. If desired, the gasket 20 may be secured on the surface 19 and may bear or rest on a suitable annular seat in the ledge or the like, or in a recess therein.

The bore within the bushing I6 communicates with a passage 22 which is connected with a conduit 23 through which the coagulating liquid may be supplied'to the assembly.

The system for supplying a spinning liquid, such as viscose, to the spinnerets may comprise an individual pump for each spinneret, the discharge side of which is connected to a conduit; 24. This liquid passes from conduit 24 through the angled passage 25 within'a fitting 26 which is supported beneath a filter 21 by means of a depending pin 28 fitting in a bore within the lateral extension 29 of the frame in which the container 2| may be formed. The upper end of the fitting 26 may have a spherical joint adapted to form a liquid-type seal with the entrance to the filter 21. After passing through the filter, the liquid is discharged through a corresponding liquidtight joint between the exit opening in the filter and the lower end of the fitting 30 which is provided with the angled passage 3| to direct the filtered liquid into the conduit 32. A clamping screw 33 .threadedly engages in the arm 34 of the frame and presses the fittings 30, and 26 with the filter therebetween against the arm 29. The screw 33 also provides for readily dismantling the filters and other parts of the assembly.

The pipes or conduits 32 are connected with the fitting 35 provided with angled passages 36 terminating in the opposed spherical surfaces 31 which make a liquid-tight joint with compl mentary seats within the end walls of the extension 33 of the bracket 3. The fittings 35 are also provided with pins 39, one of which extends into a bore 48 of the frame above the container 2| and the other of which extends into a bore within an externally threaded screw 41 which threadedly engages within a bore 42 in an opposite wall of the container 21. The angled passages 3'8 communicate with axial passages 43 which communicate with passages M (Fig. 2) at right angles thereto. The bore 45 in each projection 5 is connected to one of the passages M by means of a conduit 46 which is coupled at its ends to the bracket by means of the coupling members 41 and 48 respectively. The members 41 and 48 fit within the threaded bores 19 and 50 respectively which communicate with passages 44 and'45 respectively. While the conduits 48 are shown in the form of ahelically coiled pipe, the passages 44 and 45 may instead be dire'ctly coupled either by a bore in the bracket 3 or by a relatively short uncoiled length of pipe extending directly between the two couplings H and 43 shown. The use of a coil in conduit 45 adapts the assembly particularly to the system of spinning in which it is desired to employ a hot coagulating bath and to transfer heat from such bath into the spinning liquid, such as viscose, through such a coiled pipe 46 as described in my copending application Serial No. 66,027, filed December 18, 1948, now Patent No. 2,586,970.

The frame, as pointed out hereinabove, is provided with or formed integrally into a container 2! and within the container 21, there is provided a seat such as that of the soft gasket 20, upon which the bushing l8 may rest during spinning operations. While the gasket 29 and the associated passage 22 may be locatedat any point desired within the container 2|, such as on a fitting at the bottom thereof or on an upstanding projection disposed at any point within the container, such as near the center thereof; it is shown adjacent one end of the container at the top of a ledge having an upper horizontal surface 5i extending laterally from one end wall of the container 2!. The ledge 5! is disposed below the upper rim 52 of the container walls so that even when coagulating liquid is fed to the system through the conduit 23 during periods when the arm 3 is pivotally swung upwardly in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 2, the liquid thereby supplied will flow into the container 2i without splashing the machine around such container. A deflector trough 53 may be provided so that when the bracket 3 is swung upwardly, any viscose or coagulating liquid di charged by the'spinnerets -6 or contained in the recesses of thecups will be deflected over the filter mounting into a suitable waste trough or container not shown. The projection 54 preferably extends outwardly on the bracket 3 beyond the portion of the wall 52 about the ledge 51 as shown in Figure 1 to facilitate the grasping of the bracket by hand to swing it either up or down.

Within the container 2|, there is provided an overflow pipe 55. While the upper end of the pipe 55 is shown in Figure 2 at a higher level than the coils of pipe #15,, this level need not be maintained if it is not desired to transfer heat from the coagulating liquidin the container 21 to the spinning liquid in the pipe 46 (as in my application Serial No. 66,027 supra).

In operation, the screw ll clamps the bracket 3 tightly enough so that when the bracket is swung downwardly with the flange [8 against the gasket 26, adequate pressure is exerted between such flange and gasket to provide a substantially liquid-tight joint. By loosening the lock nut 57 and adjusting the bushing 16, it is possible to obtain in an easy fashion a horizontal disposition of the upper rims 8a of the couplings 8. The entire unit can be readily dismantled by removing screws 33 and 4!. e

The present invention'thus provides a compact spinneret and liquid supply assembly particularly adapted to that type of spinning system in which the coagulating liquid is supplied to-the vicinity of the spinneret in metered ainountsfat a uniform rate. The spinneret supporting bracket can be swung out of spinning position and the connection thereof with the coagulating liquid supply can be broken inthis operation without encountering the splashing of liq'uidoutside of the container provided for the overflow from thespinnerets and without the necessity to interrupt theflowof coagulating liquid. and to readjust the mechanism for controlling the rate of flow of such coagulating liquid to the spinnerets. Furthermore, by allowing the flow of coagulating liquid to continue even when the spinneret is swung out of operating position, individual spinning units consisting of one, two or any number of associated spinnerets may be temporarily swung outof spinning operation without changing the rate of flow of coagulating liquid to other such units which are still allowed to remain in operation even though a common device is provided for controlling the rate of flow of the coagulating liquid to the entire machine, that is to all spinneret units in an entire machine.

It is to be understood that changes andvariations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: V

1. Apparatus for spinning artificial filaments by a wet spinning process comprising a container, a movable bracket, a spinneret mounted on the bracket, conduit'means through the bracket for supplying a spinning material to the spinneret, means for supplying a coagulating liquid to a region around the spinneret comprising fixed conduit means terminating in a liquid-discharge opening in the container, an annular seat around the opening, and conduit means in the bracket terminating in .a liquid-receiving passagein a member having an annular surface adapted to bear against the seat.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the annular seat is formed on a gasket of rubbery elasticity.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in-which the annular surface is formed on a gasket of rubbery elasticity.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the movable bracket is pivotally mounted. and

5 the first-mentioned conduit means comprises a passage through the pivotal axis.

5. Apparatus for spinning artificial filaments by a wet spinning process comprising a container, a movable bracket, a spinneret mounted on the bracket, conduit means through the bracket for supplying a spinning material to the spinneret, a ledge in the container, conduit means through the container wall terminating in an opening in the ledge, conduit means in the bracket terminating in a discharge region around the spinneret and in a liquid-receiving passage surrounded by an annular surfaceadapted to bear against an annular portion of the ledge around the opening.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which a gasket of rubbery elasticity is disposed on the ledge around the opening.

'7. Apparatus according to claim 6 in which the movable bracket is pivotally mounted, and the first-mentioned conduit means comprises a passage through the pivotal axis.

8. Apparatus according to claim '7 in which the bracket carries two spinnerets, separate conduit means, each comprising a separate axial passage through opposite pivots, provided through the bracket to each spinneret, and the conduit means through the bracket for supplying a coagulating liquid to the spinnerets terminates in separate cup-shaped containers concentrically disposed with respect to each spinneret.

9. Apparatus for spinning artificial filaments by a wet spinning process comprising a container,

a movable bracket, a spinneret mounted 'on the bracket, conduit means through the bracket for supplying a spinning material to the spinneret, a ledge in the container, conduit means through the container wall terminating in an opening in the ledge, conduit means in the bracket terminating in a discharge region around the spinneret and in a liquid-receiving passage surrounded by an annular surface adapted to bear against an annular portion of the ledge around the opening, said discharge region being defined by a cup-shaped container having a rim which is above the level of the spinneret face and substantially horizontal when the bracket is in normal spinning position.

HENRY J. McDERMOTT.

No references cited. 

